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Sectopod (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)
A Sectopod is an enemy in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's a massive bipedal robot with a heavily armored central 'head' that houses several potent weapon systems. Description The Sectopod is an extremely dangerous robotic enemy. It appears around six months into the campaign (usually after researching Heavy Plasma) and is usually accompanied by two to three Drones. It is often found aboard larger alien ships and during late game Terror Site missions. The Sectopod's primary threats come from its very high health and its Cannon Fire ability which allows multiple devastating attacks in a single turn. While extremely powerful weaponry is required to reliably kill a Sectopod, these deadly machines are most definitely not invincible. In XCOM: Enemy Within Sectopods take 50% less damage from all sources, effectively doubling their health as well as the amount of damage repaired by any escorting Drones. This, combined with the reduction of the HEAT Ammo bonus against mechanical units from 100% to 50% makes them one of the most significant threats in the game. Many of the strategies listed in this article were formulated before the release of XCOM: Enemy Within and thus will not work as specified, they will have to be modified in order to be effective against Sectopods with their new trait. Sectopods cannot be selected to be on your squad in multiplayer. Deployment Sectopods first appear during the seventh month (September), or February 2016 if the "Marathon" Second Wave option is enabled. There is a limit of one per mission the month it is introduced, and two per mission thereafter (does not apply to Impossible difficulty). Sectopods can be deployed for several mission types, including terror sites and large UFO landing and crash sites, but are not encountered during abduction missions. Abilities Traits Capturing * Cannot be captured. Research *Sectopod Autopsy - Unlocks Advanced Construction Foundry project Tactics XCOM: Enemy Unknown General * Despite its size, the Sectopod, like the Cyberdisc, can fit through one-square doors and pathways. * Sectopods have a separate, accurate and deadly plasma cannon that it utilizes for Overwatch. Be warned, the Sectopod automatically enters Overwatch after using its Cannon Fire ability. * While the Sectopod has a self-destruct animation upon its death, it does not deal damage to the surrounding area like the Cyberdisc. ** This issue has been fixed in'' XCOM: Enemy Within'' with the Sectopod dealing 5 damage to all units within 3 tiles upon death. ***the tactic of having an MC'ed alien suicidally stand right next to a Sectopod no longer works: it will not receive the splash damage. ***The Sectopod's Cannon has been also changed to remove the Area of Effect (AoE) damage: upon hitting the shot will not deal additional damage to any units close to its intended target. Heavy * A Heavy has a number of options that can be used to effectively counter a Sectopod: ** Holo-Targeting can help compensate for the Sectopod's high defense rating. ** Using Bullet Swarm to fire twice with a Heavy Laser or Heavy Plasma can deal significant damage to a Sectopod. ** The HEAT Ammo ability (+100% damage vs. robotic enemies) is invaluable against the Sectopod. When combined with Heavy Plasma, a Heavy can reliably inflict 20 points of damage to a Sectopod. Combining this ability with the use of the Rocket Launcher can also produce devastating damage with the added benefit of destroying any accompanying Drones. Combining HEAT Ammo with the Mayhem ability grants the possibility of a one-shot kill against a Sectopod when used with a Blaster Launcher or using Heavy Plasma with Ghost Armor (firing while cloaked = 100% critical hit chance). ** As of XCOM: Enemy Within, the above tactics with a Heavy are not as effective due to the nerf on HEAT Ammo damage bonus to +50%, and the Sectopod's 50% damage reduction ability. Cloaking only confers +30% Critical hit chance. ** A Shredder Rocket can can help to counteract the Sectopod's 50% damage reduction ability. Sniper * A Sniper has number of options that can be used to effectively counter a Sectopod: ** Can engage a Sectopod from far outside its effective range if using with the Squadsight ability. ** Armed with at least a Laser Sniper Rifle, a Sniper can inflict substantial damage when making use of the Headshot or Double Tap abilities. Alternatively, scoring a critical hit with a Plasma Sniper Rifle will almost completely kill a full health Sectopod. **The Disabling Shot ability can provide valuable time for fellow squad mates to temporarily react to the Sectopod without fear of retaliation. However, on certain platforms, it has been proven that Disabling Shot has no effect on the Sectopod. Furthermore, a known glitch may cause using Disabling Shot on a Sectopod to give it unlimited Overwatch fire. **As of XCOM: Enemy Within, the above tactics with a Sniper may not be as effective due to the Sectopod's 50% damage reduction ability. However, Disabling Shot does properly disable a Sectopod's Cannon Fire ability, although not its Overwatch plasma cannon. Assault * An Assault has number of options that can be used to effectively counter a Sectopod: ** Armed with the Alloy Cannon and enough critical boosting abilities, an Assault can kill a Sectopod with two critical hits. ** It is possible to achieve a kill against one with a full health bar in a single turn if the soldier in question also has the Rapid Fire ability, providing that both shots successfully hit. ** As of XCOM: Enemy Within, the above tactics with an Assault are not as effective due to the Sectopod's 50% damage reduction ability. However, high ranking Assaults with Titan Armor and Combat Stims can facetank a Sectopod for up to 4 turns. Support * Suppressing the Sectopod will greatly reduce its accuracy, just like any other ranged based enemies. Under such circumstances they seldom move, so don't expect to score a free reaction shot this way. * Using a Drone Capture against an accompanying Drone may cause the Sectopod to attack the captured Drone. Since the Sectopod's attack causes area of effect (AOE) damage, its own fire may cause damage to itself depending on the Drone's proximity. In XCOM: Enemy Within, the Sectopod's Cannon Fire ability no longer deals AOE damage. * Surprisingly, it is possible to buy time in a fight against the Sectopod by clustering soldiers together in good cover, causing it to prepare for a cluster bomb barrage instead of immediately using its direct-fire weaponry. However, in all likelihood it can result in massive splash damage as well. SHIV * A squad consisting mostly or entirely of fully-upgraded Hover SHIVs is an expensive, but extremely effective attack formation against Sectopods. ** One SHIV can suppress it each turn, reducing its Aim by 30. This, combined with the SHIV's base 20 defense, makes it very difficult for the Sectopod to shoot back effectively. ** Even if the Sectopod does manage to land a few lucky hits, the Sentinel Module upgrade will repair the damage over time. ** If the SHIVs are armed with plasma cannons, each successful hit will deal about 5 damage, which is a full sixth of its health. What's more, while flying the SHIVS gain +20 Aim, which helps counteract the Sectopod's high Defense rating. ** Two serious drawbacks to this strategy is 1) the expense of purchasing all the upgrades for the SHIVs, and their production costs; and 2) with no or few soldiers in the mission, nobody will gain any XP or ranks. XCOM: Enemy Within MEC Trooper * In XCOM: Enemy Within, the Sectopod can be stunned by MEC-3's Electro Pulse ability for 1 round, provided the MEC Trooper can get close enough to bring the Sectopod into range. ** Electro Pulse does not prevent the Sectopod from using its Cluster Bomb ability, provided it was initiated the turn before. ** Electro Pulse followed by 2 hits with a MEC's Kinetic Strike Module upgraded with MEC Close Combat the following turn deals a total of 23 damage to a Sectopod, leaving it with only 7 HP, which, given 2 turns, can easily be made up with a few shots from supporting Soldiers. ** Bear in mind that if the MEC remains in close quarters when the Sectopod is destroyed, the MEC will take 5 damage from its self-destruct. Psionics * The Rift ability granted to The Volunteer is possibly the best damage-dealing ability against Sectopods, as these robotic units are counted as having effective Will of 0. Gallery Concept_-_Sectopod_&_Drone.jpg|Concept Art ZBxWO.jpg|The Sectopod's inclusion in the game was revealed at the end of the Developer Walkthrough video XCOM(EU) Sectopod TakesAim.jpg|A Sectopod takes aim. XCOM(EU) Sectopod Firing.jpg|A Sectopod fires its main cannon. XCOM(EU) Sectopod DeadlyCannon.jpg|A Sectopod murders an XCOM Soldier. Category:Enemies (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)